Intoxication and the Act/Control/Agency Requirement

Doug Husak has argued, persuasively I think, that there is no literal ??act requirement?? in Anglo-American law. I begin by reviewing Husak??s reasons for rejecting the act requirement, and provide additional reasons to think he is right to do so. But Husak??s alternative, the ??control condition??, I argue, is inadequate. The control requirement is falsified by the widespread practice of holding extremely intoxicated offenders liable for criminal conduct they engage in even if they lack control over their conduct at the time of the offense, and even if they are acting involuntarily. I provide examples from Canadian, US and German law to flesh out our legal practices with respect to intoxicated offenders. I then argue that, at least with respect to one class of intoxicated offenders?Cthose known as ??grand schemers??, who plan their criminal offending prior to rendering themselves incapable of voluntary control over their conduct?Cwe are morally justified in imposing liability. I then propose an alternative to both the act and control requirements: what I call the ??agency requirement??. I argue that our law does and should impose liability for conduct that is expressive of or constitutive of the defendant??s practically rational agency. Adopting an agency view allows us to expand our focus from just the moment of the offense to temporally extended instances of agency, such as is involved in planned offending by grand schemers.     

Social process in grizzly bear management: lessons for collaborative governance and natural resource policy

In this study, we analyze a case of governance in natural resource management. Building on the limited body of literature on termination and using methods of problem orientation and social process mapping, we examine a stakeholder engagement process designed to address conflicts in grizzly bear management in Banff National Park, Alberta. Terminated in 2009 after several years of collaboration, this stakeholder engagement process explicitly used the policy sciences framework to cultivate dialogue, improve participants?? decision-making skills, and make consensus-based recommendations for grizzly bear management. Our analysis demonstrates the utility of undertaking social process mapping and problem orientation in order to understand a natural resource policy problem. We include recommendations to foster a social process that allows for clarification and advancement of the common interest in stakeholder groups, insights into how social process can contribute to policy termination, and reflections on the practical, collaborative use of the policy sciences to solve problems of governance. This analysis complements other articles on this case that examine stakeholder perspectives, initial outcomes, and decision process, collectively providing a thorough policy analysis.     

The German grand coalition of 2005–09 and party system change: Catalyst or continuity?

Two times in the last fifty years grand coalitions have altered traditionally bi-polar patterns of German electoral competition, changing the electoral context by making it difficult for voters to endorse anti-incumbent alternatives. How have voters reacted under these circumstances, and were their responses different because of the weakening of partisan attachments in the forty years between the two grand coalitions? This study explores these questions by examining voter behavior in German state elections under the federal grand coalitions of 1966–69 and 2005–09, comparing voters’ responses with long-term trends in German party system development. The second grand coalition saw a continuation of trends in declining turnout and increasing electoral volatility, but in contrast to the first grand coalition there was no surge in support for far-right parties. Such a change may be the result of differences between the party systems in the two period, with voters in unified Germany having many more options for expressing discontent.     

Sexual Trauma and Psychological Injuries: What Experts Need to Know

This article was written to introduce readers to the bodies of work that inform experts who conduct evaluations of plaintiffs or offer generic testimony in cases involving claims of psychological injuries in the aftermath of sexual trauma, including childhood sexual abuse, adult sexual assault, and sexual harassment. In addition to summarizing the research literatures on those three areas of maltreatment, it reviews what mental health experts should know about our laws, about professional standards for evaluations, and about other relevant areas of research, such as assessment of posttraumatic stress symptoms, disclosures by young children, “normal” childhood sexual behaviors, “repressed” or “recovered” memories, memory and trauma, memory distortions, and resilience.     

Mindful yoga as an adjunct treatment for forensic inpatients: a preliminary evaluation

Although emerging evidence of yoga interventions shows benefits for people with schizophrenia, research is lacking regarding yoga interventions among forensic inpatients. This pilot study investigated the acceptability and effectiveness of an eight-week mindful yoga programme in improving psychological outcomes in 26 forensic inpatients. Outcome measures included the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation – Outcome Measure as well as a qualitative component post-intervention and at two-month follow-up. Trends in the predicted direction suggested reductions in clinical symptoms over time, specifically anxiety. Key themes revealed increased body awareness, relaxation and self-directed yoga practices and breathing techniques for anxiety management. Ninety-two percent reported acceptance of the programme. Preliminary findings are encouraging and warrant further research into the application of mindful yoga in the management of distress and risk with forensic inpatients.